Clarius Group LLC Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in American Water Works by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,123,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $373,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $856,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AWK. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $140.93 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $27.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $143.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.92.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.

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